The National Library of Medicine announces the activation of the Emergency Access Initiative in support of medical efforts in Pakistan. The Emergency Access Initiative is a collaborative partnership between NLM and participating publishers to provide free access to full-text articles from over 230 biomedical serial titles and over 60 reference books and online databases to healthcare professionals and libraries affected by disasters.

While the project was established to assist libraries affected by disasters in the United States, NLM and the publishers are activating the Emergency Access Initiative in light of the growing healthcare issues developing in the aftermath of widespread flooding in Pakistan.

The Emergency Access Initiative serves as a temporary collection replacement and/or supplement for libraries affected by disasters that need to continue to serve medical staff and affiliated users. It is also intended for medical personnel responding to the specified disaster.

EAI is not an open access collection - it is only intended for those affected by the disaster or assisting the affected population. If your library is working with a library or organization involved in relief efforts in Pakistan, please let them know of this service.

NLM thanks the participating publishers for their generous support of this initiative: American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Chemical Society, American College of Physicians, American Medical Association, American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists, ASM Press, B.C. Decker, BMJ, Elsevier, FA Davis, Mary Ann Liebert, Massachusetts Medical Society, McGraw-Hill, Merck Publishing, Oxford University Press, People's Medical Publishing House, Springer, University of Chicago Press, Wiley, and Wolters Kluwer.